episode_0003

004.

The first day of school at the Union Academy.

We made our way towards our assigned classroom.

As we glanced around, we could see numerous students chatting and laughing in the wide corridors.

The atmosphere of fresh-faced freshmen was palpable.

“Hehe. We’re in the same class again?”

As we walked down the corridor, Jin Soyeon’s cheerful voice rang out.

“I wonder how many years we’ve been in the same class. Ah~ I’m so bored.”

She hummed a tune.

She playfully nudged my side.

Clearly, she was happy to be in the same class.

Come to think of it, maybe it was because of our childhood friend setting that Jin Soyeon and I had been in the same class almost all the time since elementary school.

“Compared to middle school, it’s so much bigger here. Don’t you think? How much further do we have to walk even after taking the school shuttle? I almost got lost during the entrance ceremony.”

“The total area of the Union Academy is probably bigger than Yeouido.”

“Wow~ Is it that big? No wonder it’s considered the top hero training institution in the country.”

In the setting, the Union is a prestigious academy known even worldwide.

Artificial dungeons, combat training grounds, simulation centers, physical training facilities, special security rooms, internal artifact research facilities, magic society, medical facilities, history museum, apartments for staff, dormitories for students, and more.

There are so many facilities and amenities that it’s hard to count them all.

Just the population living there permanently is like a small city.

“That’s 1st year, 1st class over there.”

After a few more minutes of walking, we finally arrived at our classroom.

I took a deep breath in my mind.

In many ways, my heart was fluttering.

The 1-1 class we were assigned to at the Union Academy is not ordinary.

It’s because it’s a class where I, Jin Soyeon, and the male protagonists are all together.

You could say that 1-1 class is the main stage of the Romance Hero Academy.

When we open the classroom door, we’ll be stepping into the heart of the story.

“Oh, wait.”

“Huh? Why?”

For a moment, Jin Soyeon hesitated, her cheeks slightly flushed.

“I need to go to the bathroom…”

“Suddenly? Are you nervous or something?”

“Not nervous… Anyway, you go in first, Jinhuk.”

“But what if you go alone and get lost for no reason? You have no sense of direction.”

“No way~?”

Embarrassed by the mention of her lack of direction, Jin Soyeon pouted, looking displeased.

What’s with that, is she trying to act cute?

…But she is cute.

“When you were young, you got lost while running errands and cried until I found you…”

“Oh!”

As I tried to tease her a little by mentioning her childhood embarrassing moment, Jin Soyeon quickly cut me off.

“Anyway! I’ll be back soon, so save me a seat, okay?”

“Sure, sure.”

Jin Soyeon shot me a quick glance.

Then, she walked confidently towards the bathroom.

I watched her back for a moment before shifting my gaze. Thanks to Soyeon, my tension was relieved.

Phew… It’s all good.

Let’s go in and see.

I swallowed nervously and grabbed the door handle.

As I slowly opened the door, the scene inside the classroom unfolded.

The clean interior and spacious classroom.

The semi-circular classroom centered around the teacher’s desk reminded me of a university lecture hall out of the blue. It felt like a classroom I had only seen in games. The facilities do look impressive.

“Let’s see…”

The classroom was buzzing with noise.

Numerous kids were gathered, chatting and laughing.

Since there were quite a few students from the same school, they quickly formed groups.

The education trainees who already had their faces were happily blooming the flowers of conversation.

Some kids still couldn’t shake off the awkwardness, but they engaged in conversations to build camaraderie.

Among them,

There was a particularly noticeable group.

Centered around a male student with a cold, icy exterior, both boys and girls gathered round in a circle, exchanging various words.

I glanced at the face of that male student.

And there, I could see faint blue-tinted hair and eyes filled with intelligence.

Half-jokingly, it reminded me of an art piece painstakingly carved out by a master craftsman.

Truly, it was an appearance that could only evoke admiration.

‘Lee Siwoon.’

The dandy of the SL group, Lee Siwoon.

He looked even more handsome up close.

Handsome, talented, from a good family… I can see why female fans adore him.

Honestly, I’m a bit envious.

“Siwoon, do you remember seeing me at the last GB group event? I’m Kim Hanna, and my father…”

“I heard you’re one of Master 10th Rank Geomja’s disciples? Are you close with Baek Yurin?”

“Congratulations on being the top scorer, Siwoon. You’re truly amazing, aren’t you?”

Perhaps it was because he was the dandy of a leading conglomerate in South Korea.

Numerous students were clinging to him, wagging their tails consistently by his side.

I sighed in various ways at the sight of kids trying to get close to him just to gain some benefits.

How old are they that they’re already acting like this?

“Yeah, Hanna. How’s your father doing?”

“Oh! Yeah! When will you come to our house…”

Lee Siwoon seemed accustomed to the kids’ reactions and responded casually.

With a slight smile and a nod of his head, the girls swooned as if they were delighted just by that.

I stared at Lee Siwoon for a moment before turning my gaze away.

In this classroom, there was another important male protagonist besides Lee Siwoon.

That was none other than Kang Daehan.

The second male protagonist.

“Haah.”

“Uh, there, Daehan?”

“Hmm?”

“I mean, that…”

Over there, at the back.

Kang Daehan with red hair was sitting.

He had his legs up on the desk, leaning back on his chair, nodding off.

His disheveled tie and loosened collar truly resembled a rascal.

“I’m… Chaehwayoung.”

“Hey.”

As a brown-haired female student beside him continued to speak, the drowsy Kang Daehan reacted somewhat irritably.

Characteristically, Kang Daehan disliked anyone disturbing his nap, regardless of gender.

“What, leave me alone. It’s noisy, so go away.”

“Oh, uh, sorry.”

Startled by Kang Daehan’s grumbling, the female student quickly apologized, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

After letting out a snore, Kang Daehan fell back asleep.

“You fool. I told you not to talk to Kang Daehan for no reason.”

“Yeah…”

Her friend, who was with her, patted Chaehwayoung’s slightly downcast shoulder and offered words of comfort.

“But still, it’s nice to talk to Daehan… hehe.”

“…You’re really hopeless, hopeless. Do you really like Kang Daehan that much?”

“Yeah. Isn’t he cool?”

Chaehwayoung giggled softly, blushing her cheeks.

Despite being cursed at, she didn’t seem to mind.

I just can’t understand this reaction.

Wow, does that make sense?

Is that the life of a pretty boy?

Damn.

‘By the way, that Kang Daehan… His fiery personality is just like in the game.’

It’s like he inherited the bloodline of a hero who represented South Korea.

He has a quite arrogant, self-centered, and prickly personality.

At first glance, he seemed like a troublemaker, so many female fans disliked him, but he was popular in many ways because of his warm demeanor towards his own girl.

A newbie or something.

“……Snore.”

Kang Daehan fell asleep without realizing it.

There weren’t many students around him.

They were just sneakily watching Kang Daehan.

Their slightly awkward behavior was noticeable.

“Well, their family background is quite intimidating.”

The legendary hero founded the Heukyeong Clan.

However, the details of the clan’s founding were not good.

It was the beginning of the Heukyeong Clan, which was created by breaking and unifying the powerful individuals who were almost villains with their strength.

These days, it seems a bit quiet, but the atmosphere of respect and fear is stronger compared to other clans.

“I hope Isiwoon and Kang Daehan… Anyway, I hope they have a good relationship with Jinsuyeon.”

If I recruit those two as allies, it would be really helpful.

Their talent and abilities are beyond words.

And their family is really reliable.

They are a large corporation and a representative clan.

In case of emergency, they would be of great help.

“Oh? Jinho~ Hi.”

At that moment, a male student approached, tapping his shoulder.

“Yeah. I saw you during class assignment yesterday, and it’s really amazing. You passed all the Union exams.”

He chatted cheerfully, acting like a close friend.

“But what now? Union isn’t a place you can handle just because your written test scores are good. Jinho, you’ll have a hard time, won’t you?”

Unfortunately, we were from the same school during middle school, so we had some interaction.

This guy could be classified as a typical hyena.

A type of person who boosts his self-esteem by belittling others and laughing at them.

It was Kim Yuseong’s nature to cling to the strong and look down on others.

“If I hadn’t broken up with Soyeon, Isiwoon or Kang Daehan, who would have been jealous and attached to them, would have been the ones to harass me.”

It was fortunate that I could cut off the superficial relationship from the start of the academy.

“Isn’t that right?”

“Enough. Let go of my shoulder.”

I released his shoulder.

Ugh, why is this guy so touchy-feely.

“By the way, are you still dating Soyeon?”

“You know I don’t like to talk about it.”

Kim Yuseong mentioned Soyeon briefly.

This guy had been somewhat concerned about me dating Soyeon.

Not a good match, don’t know why they’re dating, jealous, etc.

“It’s annoying to hear you say that. Honestly, I’m curious. How long have you been dating Soyeon…”

“Me, what?”

Suddenly.

A familiar voice came from behind.

“Oh, Soyeon, hi.”

“Hey.”

Jinsuyeon, who had finished her business, approached us.

“But Yuseong, why is my name being mentioned?”

“Uh, it’s just… nothing…”

Kim Yuseong hesitated a bit to answer.

It seemed like he couldn’t ask why he was dating in front of Jinsuyeon.

So I took the opportunity to intervene.

It was a good chance.

“He was asking if we’re still dating.”

“What?”

When I casually answered, Jinsuyeon frowned slightly and glared at Kim Yuseong.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Why do you care about that?”

“Oh, I was just curious.”

Facing Jinsuyeon’s awkward gaze, Kim Yuseong could only respond with an awkward smile.

“From the first day, you seem very interested in other people’s love stories…”

“We broke up.”

For a moment.

“Let’s just say we decided to remain friends.”

Kim Yoo-seong seemed a bit surprised as I revealed that I had broken up with Jin So-yeon. It seemed like he couldn’t have imagined that we had broken up.

“Oh, I see. I shouldn’t have asked for no reason.”

“Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t a bad breakup.”

I chuckled and shrugged as if it didn’t matter much.

“She’s just like a childhood friend, and we dated for a long time, so I don’t really see her as a woman. Right, So-yeon?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Jin So-yeon furrowed her brows slightly and twisted her hair around her finger, looking somewhat displeased.

Maybe she didn’t like that I hadn’t kept the breakup a secret from the start.

Well, I guess it could be seen from her perspective.

She had been a good shield against annoying guys pretending to be lovers, but now that couldn’t happen anymore.

“I don’t think there was a need to reveal it from the first day. It might make others uncomfortable for no reason.”

“Still, it’s better to address these things clearly and move on.”

Because, you see, there was someone listening with their ears perked up.

The fact that So-yeon and I were no longer in a romantic relationship.

“Isn’t that right?”

“If you say so.”

Jin So-yeon’s indifferent response from behind.

There was a male student in the distance, staring at us while surrounded by many other students.

It was Lee Si-woon.

“Si-woon, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

“Hmm?”

A girl who had been chattering suddenly looked at Si-woon with a questioning gaze.

She seemed puzzled by his continued focus on one spot.

But Si-woon continued to glance in our direction even after responding.

Well, it’s understandable.

We had broken up, so he might be concerned.

“Knowing that So-yeon and I broke up on the first day probably makes it easier for Si-woon to approach So-yeon.”

In fact, we had attended the same school as Si-woon during middle school.

Of course, we had hardly spoken back then, but knowing Si-woon’s character, I was aware that he had been secretly admiring So-yeon since a small incident from the past.

I had hesitated to approach her before because I was So-yeon’s boyfriend.

But not anymore, right?

That’s right. Si-woon?